Dodger Nomar Garciaparra #5 receives high-fives from teammates after scoring on a base hit by James Loney #7 in the first inning during a baseball game between the Florida Marlins and the Los Angeles Dodgers on Sunday, July 13, 2008, at Dodger Stadium.

MLB: L.A. snaps out of funk with six-run first, Billingsley sets career high with 13strikeouts in victory.

Looking nothing like the team that stumbled through the first half, the Dodgers’ play Sunday might have served as a preview on what’s to come in tthe second half.

If the Dodgers want to wrest away control of the National League West, they are going to need more games like the 9-1 victory over the Florida Marlins as they headed into the All-Star break.

The offense was rolling, the pitching was sensational and hope returned after the Dodgers had lost three consecutive games to the Marlins and were looking at the prospect of being swept in a four-game series at home.

The Dodgers will head into the break with a 46-49 record, sitting just one game behind the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Sure, the victory was inspiring as the Dodgers head into a series Friday at Arizona, but first things first. The Dodgers just came off a stretch of 20 games in 20days and are itching for four days of downtime.

“I don’t know if I’m anxious (for the second half) because I’m going to fully enjoy these four days off,” said Andre Ethier, who walked twice, scored a run and made a tough catch of a line drive over his head in the fifth inning.

“But once the end of the break starts sneaking up and we start mentally preparing ourself to get back to business, it will be exciting to see what we are capable of doing. We still have to battle and grind it out in the second half.”

The biggest contributor to the Dodgers’ offensive revival Sunday might have been Marlins starter Andrew Miller, who looked timid from the outset. The sure sign it would not be Miller’s day came in the first inning when Andruw Jones came to the plate with the bases loaded.

Jones worked an RBI walk on five pitches, one day after he struck out five times. The first six Dodgers to come to the plate in the first inning all scored as Miller lasted just 1<MD+,%30,%55,%70>2/<MD-,%0,%55,%70>3innings.

All that offense hardly was needed as Dodgers starter Chad Billingsley was dominating. Billingsley (9-8) struck out a career-high 13 batters over seven innings and lowered his ERA to 3.25. He did not walk a batter. After losing each of his first four starts, Billingsley has rebounded impressively.

Over his last 15 starts, the right-hander is 9-4 with a 2.38ERA. And he thinks the best might be to come.

“I’ve always considered myself a second-half pitcher,” Billingsley said. “It’s a matter of keeping the same quality of starts, keep working hard and do my thing every five days.”

Catcher Russell Martin wasn’t afraid to say Billingsley, who turns 24 on July29, is capable of leading the staff over the final 2 months.

“He’s consistent with his mechanics right now and just repeats pitch after pitch and that’s the main thing,” Martin said. “Once you stay consistent with your mechanics you start feeling pretty good and you can tell that he’s starting to feel pretty good out there. He’s an ace-type guy.”

Consider the Marlins believers.

“He’s always good against us,” said the Marlins’ Dan Uggla, who will head into the break with 23 home runs. “He can get you out with any pitch he has. I know he has stuck it (to us) every time we have faced him since (20)06.”

After moving down in the order Saturday, Matt Kemp returned to the leadoff spot and had three of the Dodgers’ eight hits. Kemp, Nomar Garciaparra and James Loney each drove in two runs.

“We have been putting a lot of pressure on the pitchers by not scoring runs,” manager Joe Torre said. “Every single pitch they throw seems to be stressful based on the fact that we haven’t scored runs. They’re trying to keep the opposition from scoring anything and that’s pretty darn impossible.”

There only figures to be more stress at the end of the week when the Dodgers open the second half against the division-leading Diamondbacks.

“After watching Arizona early, you certainly didn’t expect them to be under .500 when the All-Star break came,” Torre said. “To me, this is pretty unpredictable. I’m glad we’re sitting where we are with this chance to do something. But you have to earn it.”

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